


At Last

by Birdfluff



Series: What Could Have Been [1]
Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Developing Relationship, Drunken Confessions, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Mutual Pining, Post-Canon Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-24 02:56:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20900516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Birdfluff/pseuds/Birdfluff
Summary: After the success with the Calypso war, celebration, recuperation, and a reunion between two bros was long due. However, just because the Calypsos were dead, that doesn’t mean there wasn’t someone out there with a vendetta against Atlas’ CEO and desired to tamper with his reputation by means of fake news.





	At Last

“The war is finally over and Promethea’s reconstruction is almost finished!” Rhys gave a happy shrug as he twirled his glass of wine. “Why not party about it, Lorelei?”

Lorelei looked around Jakob’s estate. It was much more grande and, well, country in comparison to Atlas HQ. Her lips tugged down. “I just feel out of place. Granted, I’m excited about all this, don’t get me wrong, but I am not used to… so much passive aggressive generosity and courtesy. That and I don’t like that we’re the first people here.”

“Hey, that shows everyone else how great Atlas is about being on time.”

“We were five minutes late because you couldn’t situate your mustache.”

“I am not going to be shown up by a Jakobs, Lorelei.” Rhys hushed, “It’s CEO things, you wouldn’t understand.”

“You’re right. I’m totally in the dark.” She rolled her eyes lightheartedly, taking a sip from her glass. “You gotta admit though. They’ve got some bloody fine booze.”

“If only their booze was as good as their guns. Heyoooo.”

Lorelei slowly turned to him. “Did you just heyo yourself?”

“... Yes, I did do that.”

“We just got here and you’ve had how many drinks?”

Rhys glared at her through another swing and clicked his tongue. “Just this one.”

“Maybe you should stop.”

“Don’t tell a CEO what to do--” He winced at her scary expression. “I’ll stop.”

“I’m joshing you!” She bumped him with her elbow. “Come on now, I thought you were trying to loosen me up.”

Rhys laughed nervously. “W-weeeell, I know what you’re like when you’re mad and it’s terrifying and I would like to not push you.”

“Eh, true. Oh, hey, the Crimson Raiders decided to show up.” Lorelei’s nose scrunched up. “God, what is that smell?” 

“We are in the middle of a swamp, Lorelei.” Rhys snorted, taking a drink. 

“It smells worse than the swamp. It’s definitely coming from him. Did that guy not get the dress code?”

“Guy? I thought the Crimson Raiders were mostly-- mostly--lee ly...” His mouth stopped working at the sight of familiar abs and hastily taped glasses. In the middle of the Crimson Raiders: Ellie, Tannis, Ava, Claptrap, and the four Vault Hunters, there was a little dude with them that reeked masculinity. He was covered in a Pandoran musk with dried blood on his chest and hand print on the right side of his face. Rhys recognized the underwear brand that a giant belt that didn’t fit around his waist was holding up.

“Rhys?” Lorelei waved her hand over his eyes. “What’s happened in there? Did you finally realize that you’re bisexual? Because if that’s the case, Zer0 owes me a coffee. Your glass is slip-- Gimme that, you drongo!”

Rhys didn’t hear her. His brain rebooted and, for a split second, he saw his best bro in his vest and bowtie with his hair combed to the side. Slowly, Rhys advanced towards the bandit, intervening his awe at the grandiose interior. “Vaughn? Is that you?”

The bandit whirled around, his arms tightly locked into his sides when he saw Rhys. His gorgeous green eyes looked at him over his glasses rims. They were filled with wonder and alarm as he eyed up the CEO. “Rhys?”

“Vaughn!”

“Rhys!”

Squealing in glee, Vaughn jumped into his arms and Rhys swung him in a circle before the bandit clung onto him like a jabber. In that instant, they forgot about the world around them. Rhys was entirely captivated within the feel of his embrace. His muscles were amazing to the touch and Vaughn felt so _strong_. Rhys was so proud of his bro, so he squeezed him as best as he could, then Vaughn retaliated via almost choking him.

“Bro, I can’t breathe…!”

“Augh! Sorry! Sorry.”

“It’s okay--! I’m fine…!”  
The bandit pressed and nestled his head into Rhys’ forehead, tears in his eyes. “I’ve missed you, bro!”

“I’ve missed you moooore.” Rhys cooed, nuzzling his nose. “You look great, bud.”

“Aawwhaha, thanks. So do you.”

“Really?”

“Are you kidding!” He took his cybernetic hand into his, gesturing to it. “Look at you! You’re glowing!”

“No, you are!”

“And you’re rocking a mustache! That’s awesome, bro! Lemme feel.”

Rhys laughed, “Vaughn, I hope you know that you are the only person who actually likes my mustache.”

“What?! Tell me who, I’ll smother them with my abs for you, bro.”

“I wouldn’t mind if you smothered me with youuurrrrraaaaahhh, ahem, I mean. Wow, your abs. You’ve really been working on them, huh, bro?”

“You wanna feel?”

“I--” Rhys poked them. “Holy shit, it’s hard.”

“Right?! I can totally take a punch now. Go on, do it-- AHH!” Vaughn squirmed out of his grasp, putting his hands out. “Not with your robot hand, Rhys!!”

“So you can’t take a punch?” He gently put his fist to his cheek and leaned down to hug him again. “I really missed you, man.”

Standing on his toes, Vaughn buried his head into his shoulder and gave a content sigh, “I missed you too. I was told that you were going to be here and I was really hoping for it. That’s kind of why I came, honestly. I haven’t been to a party since college. I wasn’t expecting anything like this.”

“I’m glad you’re here, bro.” He nuzzled his face into his beard. “You can enjoy yourself this time. You know these people other than me.”

Lorelei sauntered over to them, drinks in hand. “Soooo, am I not going to be introduced?”

Rhys tore himself away, his face flushed. “Right! Right, Vaughn, this is Lorelei. She’s my awesome and terrifying war chief and, uh, coffee barista. Lorelei, this is my original best bro across all galaxies and the greatest bandit king on Pandora, Vaughn.”

“Rhys, stoooop. You’re making me bluuuush.” Vaughn tried to brush off the compliment with a wave of his wrist. “It’s nice to meet you, Lorelei.”

Lorelei’s friendly grin disguised her lust for mischief. “Oh, you’re _that_ Vaughn! Rhys talks about you all the time.”

“Uh! Not! All the time.” Rhys said, nervously giggling, “With the war and all.”

Ignoring his side glare, she continued on, “Yeah, but especially before the war. He would not shut up about you or your abs and I gotta say though. They are just as amazing in person. I can totally see why he brought it up so much.”

“Lorelei, I have never--”

“Is that true, Rhys?” Vaughn looked to him, with large agog eyes as his hands thumbed his cape. “You didn’t forget about me?”

“What? I would never forget about you, bro!” He put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, I told you that I’d never leave you out on the curb. And I’m not going to do that to you, man. You can hold me to that, especially now.”

The bandit king broke into a huge smile as he embraced Rhys once more. “Man… we have so much to talk about, don’t we?”

“We totally do. C’mon, bro, they got some good drinks here. Although, they aren’t as good as Atlas’, in my personal opinion.”

Lorelei snorted.

The CEO glowered at her. “Hello? Do you _mind_?”

“Oh, sorry.” She said half heartedly, handing him his wine glass back. “I’ll just pop over there with Zane and see which one of us can get drunk faster. You two have fun.”

“Don’t go giving the company a bad name, Lorelei.” He jested with a small smile.

“You really think I’d lose? Have some faith, Rhys.”

Vaughn nudged him with his elbow. “Look at you, with a ‘war chief’ and Atlas wine. You’ve got it all going on, don’t you?”

Rhys found himself blushing and laughing a little too long as he shifted his weight. “Yeaaaah. We, ah, finally got everything up and running again after cleaning up Katagawa’s mess.”

“Yeah, I heard. It sounded rough.”

“It was rough. He destroyed Lazy River Land, the bastard.”

Vaughn wasn’t able to suppress his laugh fast enough. “You would have a water park that is just lazy rivers.”

“What? I never liked roller coasters after…” He dramatically glared at the distance. “The incident.”

“Rhys, it was honestly not that bad.”

“We hung upside down for five minutes on a broken ride, Vaughn. It was the longest five minutes of my life… and that’s saying something with what I’ve been through recently.”

Vaughn rolled his eyes, smiling. With a questioning hum, he poked his hand and Rhys accordingly offered him his glass. 

“Here, you can have this one. I’ll get another.” Before the bandit could open his mouth to object, Rhys was already walking over to the drink table with an undeniable sway to his hips that Vaughn noted immediately.

Drowning his emotions, he poured the rest of alcohol down his throat and blinked wildly, coughing a little. “Wow, that’s good. H-hey! Hey, Rhys! Refill me!”

Over the progression of two hours, Rhys consumed five more cups of wine while Vaughn limited himself to two. Their conversation went back and forth swimmingly. They completely forgot where they were, as if the last ten years without each other didn’t happen. They talked about life before the Calypso’s, about the plant people take over on Pandora, about the Vault on Promethea, to everything in between then and now. At the beginning of their conversation, they sat on the opposite ends of the couch and, as they spoke (and as Rhys got drunker), the two become more and more hands on, that was more than just affectionate arm touches. About an hour in, the two of them met in the middle. Rhys was three glasses deep, and he kept touching his hair and laughing at everything Vaughn said, which gave him so many butterflies that he thought he was getting nauseous. In that time, his tie was undone and hanging loosely on his neck and his shirt was halfway unbuttoned. Seeing his chest kicked Vaughn in the pancreas that he had to excuse himself to use the bathroom for a while in a failed attempt to clear his head. The butterflies in his stomach plummeted to his pelvis when he left and saw the CEO finish off his shirt and leaned back with an exasperated huff. Now, Vaughn found himself on his best friend’s lap with his legs around his waist so Rhys could ‘get a better look at his abs’. 

Although buzzed, Vaughn was still sober enough to try to not be focused on how turned on he was getting with Rhys feeling his muscles like this, so he started talking, “Hey.”

“Heyyyyy.” Rhys countered sweetly, pressing his nose into his cheek.

Vaughn took a moment to bath in this attentiveness he was getting and he let out a satisfied sigh as he happily stroked and messed up Rhys’ hair. “So, why the red arm?”

“Mmmm? Ohh...” Rhys started at his cybernetic arm for a while before his voice came as a mumbled slur. “Atlas colors.”

“But you’re wearing blue.”

“I like blue. S’my favorite.”

“Yeah, I know. But how come you changed your ECHO back? No affen-- offffenssse, but I kind of liked the yellow.”

“... That was a dark time for me. I picked yellow to remind me that I wasn’t Jack.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah… I win--wont went ba-- blue cause it I...” Rhys paused, frustrated at himself. “Issst.. It’s comforting. To me. It reminded me of you.”

“But my eyes are green, bro.”

“YeeIknow. Really pretty green. Like um… uh…” He got lost for a minute, not that Vaughn minded. His mismatched eyes were goddamn beautiful to stare into this closely. “I don’t know, something that’s green. Stop laughing. I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.”

“It--hic, reminded me of you cakkakccause...” Rhys pulled back and looked him over through his daze. He licked his lips for the eighteenth time since he made the CEO stop drinking. Vaughn _so_ was not counting. “Y-yew-you picked it out for me. Memmer?”

“I do remember, bro.”

“It was a big mmmmoment for us. Remmber?” He leaned in and somewhat headbutted him, which brought out a flustered cackle out of both of them. Then the CEO fell back into silence with his eyes still hooked onto his. It surprised Vaughn to hear his voice so feeble and vulnerable. “Do you want your old job back?”

“What? As an accountant?”

“Yeah, you could work beside me. It would be like we planned…! Right?”

His smile slowly turned into a frown. “Oh, oh, bro. Everything is so different now. I’m a bandit king, y’know? I know I’m kind of short of having a clan right now, but… man, I don’t know.”

“Please, think about it for me? I miss you. I-I want you back-- wi-with me.” Drunken tears poured out of his eyes. “Please, Vaughn… I don’t want this to be the last time we see each other.”

“Ohh, Rhys…” He kissed his cheek. “I’ll think about it, man. I’ll give it some thought for you. Don’t cry, bro.”

“H-here! I’ll give you my ECHO number, okay? Call me, y-you call me, please call me. E-even if it isn’t for the job, I want to hear your voice. Please… Please…!”

“I’ll call you, bro. I’ll call you, I promise. Okay?”

Rhys nodded shakily. “Okay. Okay… okay. Tha-thank you.”

“Let’s just focus on the now. Okay, bro?”

“Okay…” He licked lips again. “So, uh, what’s your workout routine?”

The bandit snickered, “You want pointers?”

“I mean, maybe. I’m jealous. You got these nice pecs and a full-on beard and aaaaabbs. And you did not skip leg day, dude. Those are… damn, I want your body.”

Vaughn felt his heartbeat in his eardrums and the urge to drink. “... What?”

“Come on, man, look at me. I only grew a mustache because of my own dysphoria. Remember everyone at college thought I was a lesbian for all of freshman year until I finally got surgery? How they tried to stick us in different dorms?”

“And stuffing your pants, I remember that. You went through a loooot of clothes, bro-- bro, bro. I thought you weren’t going to have enough money for textbooks… or rent.”

“I’m so glad we got our own apartment… You’re like the only person I trust, dude. You know, trust that you wouldn’t look at me differently but also differently-- god, you know what I mean. I’m passing yet I don’t feel like I am passing some times, you know? The mustache helps but everyone hates it.”

“I don’t hate it, bro.”

“See? You are trustworthy. You get me. You’ve always have...” He glanced down at his mouth for the longest time before he continued. “Be--be honest, why do you like it?”

“I think it suits you, man. It definitely gives off you that vibe you want.”

“What vibe?”

“The manly vibe?”

Rhys snorted. “No, that’s you, right now, Captain Underwear Man. You’ve got no shame and I’m jealous of that.”

“No, we’re talking about you, Rhys. You are manly. Look at how you’re positioned, man. You got the sitting down and you’re showing your chest and...” He cleared his throat. “You should cut yourself some slack. But if you want to know what my workout routine is, I can give you my list via ECHO.”

“N-noooo, no, it’s fine. Being a CEO leaves you little time to go to the gym-- aw, fuck.” He slapped his forehead with his organic hand.

“Wha-what’s wrong, bro?”

“I sound like Jack… God, I really did become him, didn’t I?”

“Bro, no-- shhshhshhhh, don’t cry, bro. Hey, hey, look at me. Brobro, look at me.” Vaughn cupped his hands onto his face. “I promise you, bro. You are nothing. Nothing like Handsome Jack. Bro, if anything you’re so much better than him. You’re so considerate and kind and you’re sweet and loving and you care an an-nnnand...” His eyes fell down to his chest. He could see the scars where the stitches used to be. He ran his hands underneath his pecs, which sent a shiver up Rhys’ spine. His mouth felt dry as he spoke. “_God_, you’re gorgeous, Rhys.”

“You mean that?”

“One hundred percent, Rhys… You’re more beautiful than the day you left. And I honestly didn’t think that was possible. You’re just so--ssssso, so, so… so…”

Vaughn missed his lips by a few inches and Rhys got a mouthful of beard hair. The CEO corrected his mistake for him by taking him by the neck and pulling him into a sloppy kiss that had too much teeth and maybe they were a bit too loud and provocative, but neither of them cared. It was bliss. Every touch, every push, and every pull was utter bliss and it burned into their skin.

Suddenly, Rhys woke up with his stomach upon a mattress and a headache that pounded like he was being beaten with a rod. His vision took five quiet minutes to adjust to his surroundings, which gave him enough time to ponder where he was. The pillows and blankets were definitely familiar in their silky touch and the color gray popped into his mind when he felt around. He was in his bed back on Promethea.

… And someone changed his clothes. That realization was a pretty disturbing to think about since he couldn’t remember what happened last night at all. Through his hangover, he tried to think. He could recall getting to Eden-6 and arriving at Jakobs Estate with Lorelei. He saw Vaughn and--

“Vaughn!” Rhys sat up and regretted that immediately as the nausea kicked in and sent him onto his back. “Oh, this sucks. Mmmmm...”

He opened the palm of his cybernetic hand and waited a moment for a connection. “Loreleiiii-- or Zer0, can one of you bring, like, nausea-- and headache… Actually, just bring every pill up to my room, I feel like I’m dying… Thank you.”

Lorelei responded, “They’re on your bedside table, Rhys. Zer0 brought you water with electrolytes this morning. There’s also a trash can, if you can’t make it to the bathroom.”

Rhys slowly sat up to look to his left to his bedside table and then down at the floor. “Oh… tell Zer0 thanks and that they’re cool.”

“I will. You just rest, okay? Zer0 and I will handle what we can.”

“Kaaayy… Thaaaaank youuu.” He hung up and carefully shifted himself to the side of the bed. He popped the pills into his mouth and chugged half of the water bottle down. “Man, I wish these worked instantly. Woof… buh, I should probably sit up-- nope, can’t. Fine. Screw you too, body. You’re an asshole.”

He opened his palm again and began to go through the ECHOnews to try to follow his routine, despite his bedridden state. Fran’s Frogurt was unveiling a new flavor tomorrow, that’s exciting! The Policebots seemed to have found more surviving COV in the subway stations and were dealt with. Good, good. A new coffee place was having a grand opening, Lorelei must be thrilled about that. He scrolled for another few minutes.

“Oh, hey, there was a piece about Jakob’s party in here. That’s kinda weird, it was on Eden-6. Why would there be news about it on Promethea? It was a private event...” His eyes grew big. “Why does it say scandal? Oh, god, they’re not talking about me, right? If it is, they have had to have made it up. They always do--Oh my god.” He zoomed in on the photograph. It was Rhys. Vaughn was on his lap and they were... Underneath the picture read in a giant font: CEO of ATLAS locking lips with a member of the COV?

“LORELEIIIII! Get in here right now!!”

Soon, Lorelei stumbled into his bedroom and doubled over, heaving heavy breathes. “I’m--! I’m here…! Oh! Jesus! You are terrifying when you’re mad...”

Seething, Rhys turned the article around and pushed the hologram towards her. “When were you going to tell me about this?!”

Lorelei gulped at the photo. “We were, uh… hoping to handle this before you woke up, actually.”

“Yeah? Why isn’t it handled by now? It’s noon. This is the afternoon news, Lorelei. How long has this been online, _Lorelei_?”

“Since five this morning.” She said sheepishly. “We’re trying, Rhys, but they don’t want to hear it from us!”

“This is ridiculous! How did paparazzi get in the estate?! Have you contacted the Jakobs?”

“We did. They are claiming that they have no part in this.”

“Oh, of course! No one does when it’s their fault! All this information is so… wrong! Has Zer0 apprehended the author?” 

“I haven’t heard back from them yet and they’re not answering my calls.”

“Well, obviously, he or she or they are trying to ruin me! Vaughn isn’t part of the COV! He’s a bandit! An-and I didn’t kiss him! This has got to be edited. Lorelei, did I kiss him last night?”

“Not that I know of. I was kind of busy… getting wasted.”

“... I knew I should have brought Zer0 too, but did I? Noooo, because that would have been a dumb idea and I’m clearly smart.” Thick sarcasm rolled off his tongue as he fell back into his fort of pillows. “Wait… does Vaughn know about this?”

“Nope, it seems this report is Promethea exclusive, which is the weirdest thing, I think. If this guy really wanted to ruin you, wouldn’t they tell the whole world?”

“The bastard is probably wants a randsome. Lorelei, how is everyone reacting to this?”

“... You don’t want to know how they’re reacting.”

Rhys sank further into his bed. “Fuck.”

“H-hey, we’ll get it sorted without a scratch, promise. I’ll keep you updated, but for now, stay here.”

“That’ll make people more suspicious of me, Lorelei.” He called after her.

“Just let us handle this, Rhys. Okay?” She asked, exasperatedly, which surprised him.

“... Okay… Um, Lorelei?”

She paused in leaving, “Yah?”

“I don’t know if it’s too much trouble but...”

“You need help to the toilet?”

“What? No. I… Vaughn needs to see this.”

“You want me to forward this to him?”

“I-I want him here. In person.”

“Rhys, that is incredibly dangerous.”

“Lorelei, is the paparazzi inside Atlas HeadQuarters?”

“Well, no--”

“Then it’ll be fine. Last night he said that he was staying on Sanctuary III and they’re connected to our Fast Travel System. Bring him through there, got it? And quick.”

Lorelei gave a single nod. “Yes, sir.”

Watching her leave with a raised brow, Rhys hummed. “‘Sir’? She never calls me that… Huh.”

On the ship of Sanctuary III, Vaughn was dead asleep in his cabin. Most of his pillow was consumed by his own saliva and his glasses splay askew upon his face. The last thing he thought of when the Crimson Raiders returned was that he must have had more drinks than he could handle with how relatively sick he felt. It took him three hours to fall asleep last night and he called himself fortunate to not have to make a bed next to a toilet. Suddenly, he was forcefully awoken from his slumber through violent shaking.

“I’m up! I’m up!” He squirmed out of whoever had a hold on his arms off him, and he grabbed his aching head. “Damn, that hurts. Is the ship going down? What’s happening?”

“Vaughn! It’s me, Lorelei. We met at Jakob’s party last night?”

He blinked hard and squinted at her until he eventually saw her face. “Oh yeeeaaah, you’re…” He snapped his fingers and shaking a finger at her. “Yyyyyessss… Yup, I know you! What’s up?”

“Rhys needs you.”

His hangover vanished instantaneously and he sprung to his feet. “He does? Then let’s go! Where are we going?!”

Lorelei lead him to the Fast Travel System and the two of them raced throughout Atlas campus, through the mall, and all the way to the elevator. 

“This will bring you up to Rhys’ office,” She gasped, “which is through those large aquariums. Don’t go that way. Turn around and go through the door behind you. That’s where Rhys is.”

“Okay. Got it. Thank you.” He pushed the button and the lift shot upwards, making his stomach drop at the speed. He fully expected to crash into the ceiling, so when he finally arrived he was much relieved to still have his appendages in one piece. How does a man who hates roller coasters have this going up to his office?

Vaughn caught himself running towards his office and did a U-turn to see a door behind him.  
“Yes. That way.” He scampered through the elevator and busted through the door. “Rhys, I’m here! Please, don’t be dead!”

Vaughn was not expecting the room he entered to be a bedroom. It was more unexpected that it was modest and clean of all things. Yet the most least thing he was anticipating was Rhys in a luxurious bed. When he connected Lorelei’s ‘Rhys needs you’ with what he saw, his heart shot out of his chest and his face was consumed with a red hue.

Rhys looked up from his holograms and gave him a relieved smile. “Vaughn!”

Despite his hangover, he leapt out of the sheets, rushed over, and hugged the bandit tightly, which he was quick to reciprocate. Rhys held him there for quite a while with his nose firmly pressed into his beard.

Trying to pass off his symptoms as part of his run here, Vaughn carried on in a somewhat steady tone, “What’s going on, bro? Did something happen or did you just…” _want to see me?_

“Y-yeah, it’s kind of bad and, ah... also my hangover is awful, can you help me back to bed, please?”

“Oh, yes! Of course.” He helped the wobbling CEO over to his king sized bed and into the covers. “There you go, bud.”

“Mmm thanks, pills haven’t kicked in yet. Okay, so, uh-- when I say it’s kind of bad-- I mean that...”

“Rhys, just show me.”

Pouting, the CEO reopened the page and pushed it onto him. “Read it.”

With teeth grinded upon his bottom lip, Rhys watched how fast the bandit scanned through the article, his expression growing more and more disturbed. Then he laid eyes on the photo. Vaughn jerked back in shock. “Wh-whoa--! Whoaaa, what?! This is not--! I’m not a COV!”

“That’s why I wanted you here, man! We--we need to talk about this. Zer0 is already trying to find the guy, whoever it is. I just need to figure out how to prove that you’re not with the COV. You’ve gotta help me, man.”

He reread the story, a hand over his mouth. “Why are they still on this COV craze? Troy and Tyreen are dead. I mean, look at this photo. It’s got to be faked, you know? It’s like one of those stupid magazine covers that specialize in shock value.”

“Yeah, if THIS was on a magazine, Vaughn! Listen, we’re still finding stragglers here. They may not have their gods anymore, but they’re still insane enough to try anything, like set fires and vandalize.”

“Shit...” The bandit looked himself over with a frown. “I could… I don’t know, change my look? Bandits are kind of known for our fashion choices of one piece of clothing but… I don’t have anything else? And I like this style...”

“Not everyone is going to get that you’re a bandit but also not with the COV. It’s going hand in hand nowadays. I’m sorry, man.”

“It’s not your fault. It’s those damn Calypsos and they’re already dead so we can’t like… re-kill them!” He gave a sigh of frustration and he plopped down on the side of the bed. His voice came out muffled since his face was planted into the silk blankets while his hands wildly gestured. “This sucks. Like, you’re the CEO, people should like you by default. You’re not ruling them through fear like Hyperion.”

“A lot of people think I’m a pushover, Vaughn.”

He slammed his hands onto the mattress and lifted his body up. “What?!”

“It’s been like that since the Maliwan merger. If it wasn’t for the Vault Hunters, they would have won and I… I probably would have died. It’s been painting me in a bad light. And this… people are assuming that I was always on the Calpyso’s side, like I was acting or it was all part of a big show so that _this_!” He pointed at the photograph. “Would seem like nothing or like a mistake or something.”

“Bullshit. You helped the Vault Hunter! You destroyed Katagawa’s luxury ship and-- and…! God! That’s bullshit! You were doing what you could!”

“I know...” Rhys wiped his face, his gaze unable to remove itself from the photo. 

“The people who I think would do something like that to you are dead. But then again I don’t know Promethea like you do. You made this and all and Zer0 seemed busy with putting the Vault Hunters to work. Man, I don’t get it. I can’t imagine anyone with a paying job that would do this to you. You’re paying them! To work for you! It’s a happy medium. This is why I hate office work-- I don’t get people and I hate talking to them. And that’s another thing! You LIKE talking to people and you’re attractive! Why would anyone hate you, seriously?” He huffed, sitting on the edge of the mattress. “You’re perfect. That’s it! Maybe, they hate how perfect you are… I’ve been talking way too much. Please, tell me you weren’t listening to any of that. Rhys?”

He looked over to see that he was still staring at the article’s picture. Vaughn too looked it over. The shot was cropped at Rhys’ thighs and it was hard to tell where either of their hands were since it was slightly blurry due to motion. Vaughn had seen enough photoshopped pictures to know that that was intentional, but what threw him off was that their faces were perfectly in focus.

Rhys’ voice made him jump. “... Vaughn, did we kiss that night?”

“Not that I recall. That whole night feels like a blur. I can think of little bits of it. You offered me a job here. Do you remember that?” 

After giving it some thought, Rhys nodded. “Yeah, kinda.”

“Okay, we both remember that but I don’t remember kissing before or after that. What, you think that’s faked?”

“Maybe.” Rhys lightly touched his swollen lips, staring at how aggressively Vaughn’s teeth were biting down on his bottom lip that there was a bit of blood dripping down his chin. He ran his tongue over the skin and found a scab. 

“Rhys? You’ve been really staring at that, bud...”

“Vaughn.” He said, hoarsely, “I don’t think this was faked.”

“Whhhat do you mean?”

“Look at my mouth.”

“It looks swollen.”

“Yeah, I know that! Come closer.”

Crawling on top of the sheets, Vaughn leaned into his personal space. “What am I looking for?”

“See the scab?” He pointed at it with his tongue.

“Uh-huh.”

“Okay, now look at the picture. See? I think that was from you.”

The color on his cheeks slowly drained. “Oh… my… god--!”

“Oh my god!”

“Rhys, we made out!”

“We so did, oh my god! What is wrong with us? I-I mean, I have never thought about making out with you!”

“Yeah, uh-duh, me neither! That would be weird.”

“Totally weird! Because we’re friends. Best friends.”

“We were so totally drunk.”

“Totally! We would never make out like that cause we’re bros!”

“Absolutely, only bros. Best bros, even.”

“Yeah, the absolute best… so best…” Rhys felt out of breath for some reason as he gazed at awfully close Vaughn’s lips were in relation to his. He became aware of how the bandit positioned himself on top of him. He was somewhat straddling him with hands on either side of him. They locked eye contact… and recoiled away from each other. Vaughn hauled off him and to the end of the bed, covering his face with his hands, while Rhys sank down and tugged the covers above his head. After a minute of pronounced quiet, Rhys feverishly explained himself. “We’re still drunk!”

“So drunk!” Vaughn forced out a laugh. “I’m so wasted…!”

They spent what felt like an eternity in the same vicinity reconciling with themselves that that definitely did not happen. The CEO forced himself to think out of that. They needed a solution and fast and they weren’t going to get it by not talking. Rhys shoved the blankets off him and he exhaled hard as he stared at the ceiling. “Vaughn? I think I have an idea.”

“What is it?” He returned shyly, looking at him through his fingers.

“They’ve only seen you like… you know.” He waved his hand over to him.

“You gestured to all of me.”

“Exactly. What if we show them that, it was because we got so drunk that you stripped your clothes off? Because that’s normal. That’s a normal thing that happens when people are shitfaced, I mean, my shirt was undone and I never do that in front of people.”

“Um, that’s… that’s a start.”

“I don’t know how to explain the kiss, though. I want them too, but they aren’t going to accept the fact that we were black out drunk. They’re expecting something more out of it and we have to give that to them… but what?”

Vaughn rubbed his arms. “What if… Hear me out.”

“I’m listening.”

“It’s a stupid idea, but it could work.”

“I’m all for anything, bro.”

He sucked in air through teeth, “What if we pretended we were dating?”

“... I’m into it.”

Vaughn stumbled onto his feet to face him. “Rhys!” 

“What, it could work! Why are you surprised?”

“Did you JUST forget what we-- that?” He broadly waved his palms over the sheets. “THAT!”

Rhys somewhat shrugged his shoulders, guiltily looking at him with a lowered head. “And? That just means we’re comfortable. I mean, you were sitting on my lap that night. It’ll make it easier for us. We already like each other. Wwwwweee-- we just gotta be romantic about it in front of people!”

“Uh, right. Yeah, right. Right, right. Right.”

“Right, uh, we’re for this, right? I mean, are you into this? Cause if you’re not cool about it, hah, we can think of something else!”

“N-no, I’m for it! Seriously. I’m still kind of uh, processing.”

“Yeah, me too. Um, why don’t I, ah, order some clothes for you while you take a shower.”

“A shower? I haven’t heard that word in a while. Oh geez, how bad do I reek?”

“Eh, it just smells like nostalgia to me.”

“You’re gross.” Vaughn smirked. “But probably not as gross as me right now.”

Rhys blew a raspberry at him, “Go bathe. The bathroom is behind that door.”

“Kay,” he giggled as he rounded the bed and trekked through the unknown territory that was a clean bathroom with a tub and showerhead. Rhys counted up to ten when Vaughn called out. “Uhhhhh, does your shower run on alien technology, Rhys? Voice activation? Shower on? Shower, turn on. Hello? Where’s the handle?”

Rhys snorted, laughing to himself as he slowly got up from bed and hobbled his way to the door with a hand on his stomach. 

Vaughn looked behind him to shout again but when he saw Rhys moving, panic struck. He quickly put his hands on him, holding him steady. “Whoa, no no no! You go back to bed, mister. Just yell at me.”

“Hehehe, that would take longer.” Rhys giggled, pressing his face against the top of his head. “I’ll be okay, bro.”

With Rhys leaning his weight onto him, Vaughn took him to the shower side of the bathroom. Rhys poked at the wall and where he touched lit up like a screen as the shower head gushed water into the tub. 

“Fancy,” Vaughn muttered with an impressed hum.

“Uh-huh, you press that again when you’re done. See the buttons now? These three down here are the soap and conditioner dispensers. This dial controls the temperature and it gives you the exact degrees, see? And if you want, you can just type it out instead: like this. Cool, huh?”

“Very cool. It’s like you had me in mind when you made this. Let’s get you back in bed.”

“Hey, I’m particular too about my showers. Speaking of, remind me, you don’t like velvet or was it wool?”

“Neither. Also wool can be part of velvet. Aren’t you wearing velvet?”

Rhys looked down at his sleep wear. “Listen, I have no idea who dressed me, but, yes, I think this is velvet. I’m trying to get out of the habit of sleeping in my day clothes but that has not worked out lately.”

Vaughn smiled sweetly at him as he helped him climb onto his mattress, “Anyway, what I hate is denim.”

“Deeeeniiim. I was not even clooooose.” The holograms reappeared over his hand. “No denim. Gooooot it. Size extra large in the boy’s section, right?”

“Shut up, you asshole. We’re not in highschool anymore.”

Rhys stuck his tongue out. He glanced over at the bandit and held his organic hand out. “I missed you, bro.”

“I missed you, man.” Vaughn took his hand, leaned in and lovingly nosed his cheek, making the CEO happily hum. He squeezed his hand before letting it go. “Alright, bro, I’ll try not to drown in your fancy shmancy shower.”

“You know damn well I reconciled that fear decades ago, you little shit. Let me live.”

“Never.” He said as he closed the door.

For a while, Rhys mindlessly stared at the door, listening to the shower run. He heaved a small sigh and returned to his task. It was easy to avoid denim and find his size, what was difficult was clothes that fit his style which was… bandit king. He had no idea how to translate that to Atlas fashion, which he didn’t understand anyway. Even though the pills were taking effect and giving him some relief, his headache was still there so he decided to order some outfits and let Vaughn decide for himself.

Rhys must have fallen asleep, since he woke up startled at the sound of the door opening. He sat up, giving Lorelei a blank look as she walked in with a box in her arms. “Rhys, why did you order clothes?”

“Huh? Oh! That’s for Vaughn! Put ‘em there, yeah.”

“What’s goin--” She paused when she heard a singsong voice. “Is… is Vaughn in your bathroom?”

“Oh, right, I didn’t tell you, uhhhhh. We came up with an idea to prove that Vaughn isn’t with the COV, right? Okay, so I got him these nice clothes and we’re going to pretend that we’re dating and you know! Go out on a date! And just like that, his name is cleared and I’m not a laughingstock. It’s a great idea, right?”

Lorelei struggled not to smile too broadly. “Y-yyyyeaa, that’s, ah, brilliant idea, Rhys.”

“I thought so too. Oh! Oh! Wait! Before you go! Did you hear from--?”

“Nothing yet. Don’t worry, you’ll be the first to know, Rhys.”

“Okay, just… making sure before we go out there.”

“You want me to come with you two?”

“Uhhhh, n-no, you’re needed here when Zer0 comes back. I’ll be okay! I have Vaughn.”

“Alright… Whatever you say.” Lorelei said, halfheartedly, as she considered stalking the two. The door automatically closed behind her.

After another minute of listening to Vaughn singing a heavenly song from his heart, the bandit nervously poked his head out from the door. “Hey, uh, bro?”

“What’s up?”

“I don’t think we thought this through. I don’t have any clothes to, um...”

“Oh, dude. They just came in, see that box?”

“What? That fast--?” Vaughn opened the door a bit more to look at the end of the bed. “That’s huge! How many did you get?”

“Like, four outfits? I couldn’t decide.”

“Rhys...”

“Don’t give me that look. If you’re going to pose as my boyfriend, I wanna give you options.”

“Rhyyyyyyys.”

“I am going to treat you today, dammit!” Rhys exclaimed, smiling at Vaughn’s heavy blush, which was probably from a hot shower but it didn’t matter to him. “Go on, look through them. I should get dressed too.”

Shamelessly, Vaughn crossed the threshold with a towel wrapped around his hips as Rhys shuffled out of his nice warm bed and snapped his metal fingers. Instantly, the wall opposite to the bathroom door opened and unveiled a giant walk-in closet.

“Show off,” Vaughn grumbled with a playful glare before returning dumping out the box of clothes. “You’re living the dream, we get it.”

“Eheh, yeah, I have. It hasn’t really been all that amazing like we thought, though.”

“Yeah, you told me. I think Handsome Jack messed with both of our mindsets.”

“You’re not wrong...”

“Aw, crap, bro, I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have brought him up.”

“No, it’s fine. You’re right.” Rhys removed a red shirt from the railing, examined it, and put it back, continuing to look through his row of shirts. “Being a CEO isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. It has its moments, but I also get targeted by assholes for existing… Jack made it look so… simple. I was doing so good before the Calypsos… but I also think I should be thanking them, you know?”

“Why’s that, bro?”

“Well, I know this situation is super bad for both of us. There could be people with freakin’ pitchforks at my gates but… you’re here.”

Vaughn felt his face burning off as he gave up trying to pull the pants up over his thighs. “Rhys...”

“It’s because we both screwed up, right? I mean, we were both stupid drunk and all over each other because… I don’t know, man, I was so happy to see you. I guess, I don’t mind this whole pretend relationship so much, because I get to spend more time with you before you go back to Pandora and from there.” He paused. “Who knows when we’re ever going to see each other again. I want to make this count for something. Is--is that weird?”

Vaughn didn’t answer at first. His eyebrows knitted from thought but he kept his voice steady, “Not at all, man... Do you plan on taking me somewhere?”

“Once we get paparazzi cleared up--” He adjusted his silk red tie in the mirror. “I’m taking you on a tour then we’re going to stop by my favorite frogurt shop. I’ll show you around Lectra City until night falls and from there I’m going to show you why Meridian is called the city of lights.”

“We’re going to go out the whole day?”

“I mean, why not? It would be weird if we didn’t.”

“But your work?”

“Your safety is more important than anything else, Vaughn… and I need to get the public back on my side.”

“Won’t they think that I’m controlling you or something?”

“Not if I tell them the truth. I know how to talk to reporters. They’ve got to believe us, bro. I don’t know what else to do if this doesn’t work. This has got to work...” He took one last look over his outfit. It was a fetching dark suit with silver cufflinks alongside a hot red custom patterned tie to match his arm. He brushed his hair back and fixed the hairs standing up on the end of his mustache with a comb and a bit of gel. “You ready, bro?”

“I think so. Some of the pants you got me are a little tight.”

“Oh, whoops, sorry about that. I forgot thaaaa...” When Rhys turned around all the air left his lungs. Vaughn definitely mixed the outfits together, but what was worse is that he made it _work_. He was wearing a black see-through shirt that showcased his pecs and abs, and on top of that he had on a stiff forest green blazer that hugged his biceps. His black slacks were ripped at the thighs but Rhys couldn’t tell if that was on purpose or that the fabric was too weak, either way it was making him weak at the knees. “Shhhhhhit.”

Vaughn didn’t react to his exclamation. He was too busy giving Rhys the same open mouthed stare. He quickly wiped his lips before too much saliva fell out and tried to flick it on the floor. “Ahahaha, wow, Rhys. You look. Wow.”

“Ahhh, thanks… I felt like… I don’t know.” His smile was hurting his cheeks but he couldn’t bring himself to stop as his shoulder shimmied back and forth, “Dressing up?”

“I bet I look awful in comparison, don’t I?”

“No. You’re hot. Like, flaming hot. Like, you are hot, bro. Damn hot, call the police and the-the-the fireman, right? That was stupid.”

Vaughn bit his lip in a feeble attempt to surprise his giddy grin. He did a little spin and felt his heart flutter with delight at the daydreamy expression the CEO was giving him. “You really think so, Rhys?”

“Yeahhh, you’re really pretty.” He cleared his throat, awkwardly, yet he was still smiling and looking at him. “We should, um, fix your hair up before we go, first. Um, it’s a bit long so do you want it in like a little ponytail?”

“Whatever you think, Rhys.”

He took a hair tie out of one of the tiny drawers in his closet and slowly crossed over to Vaughn and gently took his hair into his hands. The rhythm of his fingers feeling and pulling on his scalp gave him an easing carnal sensation blossoming from his chest that made his eyes flutter shut. What made Vaughn worry was that he didn’t feel weird about it. It didn’t feel off when Rhys was definitely feeling him up as he put his arms around him and brought his back into his chest or how Rhys nuzzled his cheek just to feel his beard again. They stood like that for another breath.

“Rhys, if we keep this _‘pretending’_ up, we’re not going to make it out of your room.”

“Augh! Right!” Rhys laughed, pulling away and nervously stroking his hair. “Uh, pretending! That’s what I was doing. I was just practicing for uh, when we get out. That’s exactly what I was doing. Good job on, uh, catching that. You’re clever, Vaughn. So smart. That’s what I like about you. ANYWAY. Let’s get going.”

Vaughn’s uncontrolled laughter ascended him to cloud nine. Rhys led him out of his chambers, down the elevator, and traversed through the campus together hand in hand. He could feel his heart trying to escape his ribcage through his throat the closer they got to the secret exit. He tried to cool his nerves the only way he knew how: by talking.

“You have no idea how special you should feel, Vaughn. Just outside is one of my many secret entrances to my _secret_ headquarters. No one knows how to get here. No one even knows that it’s a door! Only the people directly working for me know about this and now so do you. And! Also, I got plenty of hidden shortcuts everywhere when I need to escape crowds. We’re going to cut through one of them that head directly to the heart of Meridian Metroplex.”

He gave an impressed nod. “That’s pretty neat, Rhys.”

The CEO bathed in the praise. “It’s nothing. I’m just always thinking ahead--”

“Rhys, sir!” A soldier trotted up to them, blocking the door. “I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t let you go out.”

Rhys stepped forward, worriedly, “Liam, what’s going on? Don’t tell me they found my secret entrance! Please, don’t tell me they found it, man!”

“N-no, sir. They didn’t. But I’m going to have to ask that the small guy to come with me for questioning.”

Defensively, Rhys pulled Vaughn behind him and pointed a metal finger at the soldier. “He’s not going anywhere without me.” 

“Rhys…!” Vaughn squeaked.

“You know exactly who this is, soldier. You have heard me talk about him. This ‘small guy’ is Vaughn, my best friend and NOT with the COV. You are supposed to be above listening to rumors, Liam.”

Liam buried his head in his shoulders. “Oh--uh, I’m... sorry. We just want you to be safe.”

“I know, I know, you’re doing your job and you’re doing it well and I appreciate you for that.”

“Th-thank you, Rhys, sir!” He sounded flustered underneath his mask. “It means a lot to hear you say that.”

“You’re welcome, Liam. If you’ll let us pass now, I’d like to debunk this awful slander about my boyfriend.”

Liam quickly stepped aside. “Would you like an escort?”

“No, thank you. We’ll be taking the secret route… And just making sure, the ratches have been cleared out of there?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Cool, we’ll be back around midnight.” The two fist bumped and the CEO waltzed out of the campus with Vaughn stumbling beside him.

“Rhys, that was--” The hatch talked over him as it slowly opened. The bandit tapped his fingers on his hip, impatiently counting the seconds. The two ducked under the door when it was high enough and Rhys guided him through a narrow alleyway. Vaughn tried again in a hushed voice, “Rhys, you know his name?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I? Having an ECHOeye makes remembering names so easy.”

“That’s just… You don’t realize that at all, do you, bro?”

“What? I like everyone to feel included, man. What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing! You have no idea how many bosses, and not just CEOs, can’t even name half their employees. Henderson couldn’t remember my name for a whole year, and I did his payroll.”

“Haha! Yeah. But c’mon man, it’s not that big a deal.”

“Uh, yes, it is, Rhys. It’s because you knew exactly how it felt working for Hyperion. You can’t tell me that you forgot how long it took them to change your files out of your deadname.”

“Ugh, that took way too freakin’ long. I thought they were on the fence about firing me because I was trans.”

“Hey, it worked out! You don’t gotta be salty about it. It was years ago.”

“I can be a little salty about how people treat my identity. I was really impressionable back then.”

“Right... Do you have people similar to you in your army?”

“You just met one.”

“... Oh, that’s rad! See? You’re leagues above Hyperion.”

Rhys grinned at him, squeezing his hand. “We’re about there. Stay here for a sec, I’ll look around.”

The CEO released his hold on him and continued further down the passage. He peered through the grid gate and without looking, beckoned Vaughn over. Standing beside him, Rhys retook his hand and quietly pushed the gate as they hurried out.

“Ok, okay, we’re good. I hope.”

“Where to, man? Do we just find the nearest reporter and tell them that they’re wrong?”

“I… didn’t think this far ahead. Well, I did, but not so much the… where part.” He tugged the bandit along, attempting to casually walk through his city. “Let’s pretend we’re normal and nothing happened.”

“Really?” He quirked a brow.

“Well, do you have any ideas?”

Vaughn hummed, scratching his beard. “We should probably wander around for a while. Act like we’re in love and maybe they’ll come to us. Will they recognize me, Rhys?”

“If they don’t, they will totally recognize me.”

“... You are the CEO.” He said, his voice lingering on each word, “I sure hope they know who you are.”

Rhys glowered for a while at his smug smirk before finally turning away and put his arm over his shoulders, hugging him to his side. “Shut up, I hate how cute you are right now.”

“I went from hot to pretty to cute?”

“You’ve always been cute… and pretty… and...” His next pause lasted a lot longer than the rest that Vaughn looked up at him to see the sheepish panic on his face that he wanted to kiss off. “Hot. No homo.”

Vaughn burst out laughing. “Bro! You can’t say that! You’ll blow our cover.”

“Look, you’re the whole package is what I’m trying to say in the not gayest way possible.”

“How you phrased that was really gay, Rhys, and it was adorable.” He patted the hand that hung loosely from his shoulder and held it as he stared up at him in adoration. His uncontrollable giggling was opening new doors to his heart. “Now, you’re being unfairly adorable.”

“I don’t know why, but I can’t stop smiling…! I never felt this happy. It kind of hurts, cause you know, this isn’t a real thing. Not that I-I-I-I-I want it to be, I mean--” 

The feeling faded a little. Vaughn put his hand on his waist and gave him a small squeeze. “We should stop talking about this in public. Someone could hear us.”

“Right, sorry...”

The two managed to nonchalantly pace through a couple of blocks with only awestruck looks and whispers from civilians who looked their way. Vaughn wasn’t anticipating compliments to be hidden behind their hands. He lost count of how many variations of ‘handsome’ the public attached onto him. It helped that Rhys was doing an amazing job with being naturally loving to him. It inspired him to return the favor because he knew well that his reward would be him giving Vaughn the cutest expressions. The bandit had only experienced this much euphoria since his walkabout of Pandora. He found himself wanting to pull Rhys in between buildings so that he could bruise his lips until they were swollen again. It didn’t feel weird to think about it. What did feel weird was Vaughn only now realized that they were caught in a group of reporters. All eyes were on Rhys and when he glanced at him Rhys was somehow calm and collected. The trepidation and fear he saw earlier that afternoon had vanished into confidence and dignity. _God_, did he find that attractive.

Vaughn started listening to him as he was in the middle of a sentence. “--degree to choose that. Vaughn is, in fact, my boyfriend and has been before the Calypsos’ and their invasion. I wanted to keep him safe from the COV. That is why I have only him now, since his name was slandered by a nameless author who attended, uninvited, to a private celebration of our victory on Eden-6. Know that I will not tolerate falsehoods against anyone of my friends and that includes the people of Promethea. And to anyone who still doubts me… Promethea wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Vaughn.”

Sounds of flashing cameras paused at the startling statement. Vaughn gaped, nonplussed. “What?”

Rhys gazed down at him and turned to face him, placing his hands on his cheeks as he smiled meaningfully. “If it wasn’t for you, Vaughn, I don’t think this would have happened. You always pushed me to do more. You never left my side even when I did the dumbest things. You kept me… as straight as I can be. I probably tested our friendship too much, but you stayed through it all. You’re my wingman, my right hand… The greatest man I’ve ever met. God, I love you.” 

As Rhys kissed him, Vaughn fell limp in his touch and mindlessly returned the gesture. It was so tender and soft the way he pressed so gently yet passionately into his lips. Vaughn felt like he was going to faint when he pulled away. The flashing lights that pounded his vision or the bombardment of noise on top of noise didn’t bother him anymore. He was blind and deaf to everything but his world, Rhys, whose smile was brighter than any sun in every galaxy.

After the end of the superfluous interviews, both of them got lost in the flow. With no alcohol to blame, neither of them could keep their hands off each other and laughing at themselves about it. The lovey dovey totally pretending couple kept this act up even as they sat down at one of the umbrella tables in Fran’s Frogurts vicinity. Rhys’ chocolate dill pickle yogurt was halfway eaten and forgotten on the table. With a hand pressed deep into his cheek, he gawked at him with a fond smile fixated on his lips, while Vaughn happily kicked his feet, that were a foot off the ground, as he savored every bite of his Athenian Vanilla.

“This is so gooooood.” He moaned again with a hum. “I’ve forgotten what vanilla tastes like! I’m so mad that they have nothing like this on Pandora. This is, like, the best kind of savory, you know? Granted, I love skag meat but it kind of has that underlying barf taste that’s off putting… Rhys? You haven’t been talking for a while.”

“Mmmm?”

His face grew a light shade of pink. He tried to laugh out of his nerves. “Rhyyyys? Are you hearing me?”

Rhys didn’t stumble his way into an excuse for once. He stayed in his position, his grin ever present. “Mmmmmhmmmmm, you’re just… so cute.”

Vaughn shifted in his spot, drinking in his dreamy stare and letting it fuel his love for him. After a few more bites, the bandit scooched over to his side of the bench and kissed his cheek, making the CEO melt instantaneously.

He jerked his head up before it hit the table and he ogled at the bandit, blinking. “That was close.”

“It was! You okay?”

“With you here, I am.”

He stirred the rest of his yogurt and stared at the swirls. “A-about that, um… Can, can we talk?” 

“What’s on your mind, bro?” The CEO pulled him by his waist until there was little space between them and placed his arm back on his shoulders like it belonged there. “You want to be somewhere more private? Because I got a few places.”

Maybe, it did belong on him. Vaughn leaned into his side, sliding his hand onto his chest. He rubbed his tie in between his thumb and index finger as he rested his head there. “No. I was just thinking…”

“What about?”

“We’re pretty close, even after so long, don't you think?”

“It’s like we never left each other.”

“But we did and I think it’s really playing a part in how we’re acting. I really missed you on Pandora, Rhys. I wished you would come back to me.”

“Vaughn… I-I’m sorry I couldn’t, I was--”

“I know. You were busy living your life. You had nothing against me. You didn’t outgrow me. You really did not outgrow me… Rhys, we never did this when we lived on Helios or on Pandora. Am I wrong?”

“... No, you’re not wrong. Where are you going with this?”

“We were touching each other a lot at that party, even before the alcohol. We kept hugging. You kept touching my hair. You keep putting your face into my beard.”

“I like your beard. I like how it feels...” Rhys admitted, guiltily. “I like it.”

“You never touched my goatee when I was growing it, Rhys. Something happened in those ten years between us. What changed?”

“Time...?”

“Time...” He repeated, blandly.

“We were separated for the first-- well, second time.” The CEO continued, “For so long, I was always looking to my right, expecting to see you there, but you never were. It… it gave me a lot of perspective.”

“Yeah, I had plenty of alone time to think. A lot of really quiet nights… An asston of identity issues.” Vaughn finally stopped fiddling with his tie and met his bewildered gaze. “Rhys, I don’t think we were ever pretending to be in love.”

“... I think, you’re right.” He said softly, eyeing his lips. 

Vaughn tried to swallow but his mouth was dry. “I don’t think it was just the alcohol that, ah… made us want to kiss each other… Because, wh-when you kissed me back there, I never felt so…” He pressed into his lips and Rhys immediately followed in suit, enclosing him in a comforting embrace. Just as before, Vaughn felt it again. It rapidly changed his mind around that he was unable to catch up with it, but the only word that he could feel in his mouth was. “Kissing you feels like home.” 

“Home...?”

“I want to keep coming back to them-- back to you.” Vaughn put his forehead up against Rhys’. “W-were you pretending when you said all that stuff about me… about me inspiring you?”

“No. I meant. Every. Word.”

“And all of that is going to be in the newspapers.”

“Good. I want them to know how much you mean to me. I would never have gotten to say any of that when we were at Hyperion. It felt so… relieving to admit all that and then kissing you was...” He looked to his mouth again and they smiled into their next impulsive kiss. “Yeah... it was home. I really do love you, Vaughn.”

“I really love you too, Rhys.”

“D-do you want this to be official, then?”

“Are you okay with that?”

“Are you? I have no problem with it, but you… You’re king of the Sun Smashers. You’ve got to, you know, be a king… on Pandora.”

Vaughn faltered. It was an enormous decision that he found himself considering, but everything in gut told him he wasn’t ready to make a choice yet. It was too early. The bandit nosed his neck, embracing him. “I don’t want to think about that right now. I want to enjoy this. I want to enjoy you.”

He stroked the top of his head. “I won’t bring it up until you’re ready, okay, man?”

“Thank you, Rhys. I’m, um… still looking forward to that tour?”

“You want to go now?”

“Could we?”

“Yeah, man, let’s go. Physically, like, remove ourselves from this. I’ll throw these away.” Rhys picked up the yogurt cups and got up from the bench. It was brief but the emotion he experienced was prominent. Vaughn didn’t want to be alone anymore. He didn’t want to feel abandoned again. He flinched when the CEO touched his arm. Concern rose into his tone. “Vaughn?”

“I’ll be okay.” He waved haphazardly, standing up and faking a smile. “Yeah, let’s totally remove ourselves from this situation, uhh uh… where to first, bro?”

True to his word, Rhys didn’t say anything about their prior conversation. However, he did lean down and kiss the corner of his mouth and that eased the bandit slightly. “Lectra City.” He pulled him along by his hand, pressing onto a conversation. “You know, when the Calypsos were around, some weird guy ruled that place. I can’t remember his name for the life of me but it was this game show type thing called:” 

“‘Who Wants To Bang A Bazillionaire’.” Vaughn finished with a nod. “Yeah, that guy was uncomfortable to listen to.”

“Vaughn, you… you watched that?”

Realizing he dug himself into a hole, the bandit glared at him and tried to jab his side but he grabbed his hands with a giddy laugh that Vaughn also fell into. “Hey! They controlled every station and they wouldn’t let you turn it off. I have no idea how they did that but it was terrifying. C’mon, Rhys, what was I supposed to watch? You can’t blame me for being curious.”

“I guess not since… I was too.”

“Seriously, bro?” He teased and cackled at his offended stare. “I’m kidding! I’m kiiiddiiing.”

“... I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” Vaughn brought him into his side this time. “How many times have we even said that today?”

“Not enough times. We could even it out by saying how much we love each other.”

“And be those people we hated in college because they would NOT stop making out in public places? And elevators. I got the meanest glares, like, come on! It’s a public space! I’m allowed to be here too!”

“I hate to break it to you, man, but we are well beyond that. We made out on live ECHOnet, which broadcasted to aaaaalll of Promethea.”

“That’s the ECHOnet.”

“And we did kiss a lot at Frans’ Frogurts.”

“I-- yeah...”

“And even before that we were kind of… touching each other a whole lot, in front of people.”

“You did grab my butt a few times.”

“I didn’t grab your butt! I pinched it. Big difference. I’m not that gross. And I couldn’t help it, you have a nice butt and you were being cute.”

Vaughn snickered, “You still touched it and everyone saw… Oh, god, everyone saw.”

“And we did not care.” Rhys agreed, tugging on his tie.

“Not at all.”

“Boy, we, uh… oof. We were really not pretending.”

“Nope.”

“That was completely real.”

“Mmmhm.”

The two were silent for another block.

“Vaughn.”

“Rhys?”

“I think I’m so in love with you that I’m not bothered by how people think of us, even if what we’re doing could be annoying. D-do you feel the same?”

“We were enjoying each other… I was only ever against PDA during high school and when we worked at Hyperion, because... you know why. This kind of feels like our college phase where we were trying just about everything… Hmm, no, I don’t give a shit what anyone thinks. With that being said, I’m going to do this.” Not knowing his strength, he patted Rhys’ buttcheek, which sent him stumbling forward.

“Vaughn!!” His face lit up like Mercenary Day tree. “E-easy…! That super hurt, bro.”

“Snrk-- Sorry! I’m sorry, man.”

“You’re such an ass.”

“I do, in fact, have one of those. I was just returning the favor.”

“Oh, shut up, you...”

Vaughn waited, noticing his gaze was below his chin. He made sure he was gentle before squeezing his side and stopping their walk. “Go on?”

“Why didn’t you pick a shirt that wasn’t see-through?”

“They felt restricting. I think you should have gotten up a size.” 

“Yeah, that’s my bad… but it’s only for today.”

“Right… and, um, I thought this one would look nice on me.”

“It does look nice...”

“Rhys.”

“Mmm?”

“You were about to call me something.”

“Was I?”

“Uhh, yeah?”

“Oh… I forgot.”

“Like how you’re forgetting that is not where my eyes are?”

“Can I not admire how you look? Geez...” Rhys said with an embarrassed grin as he urged him along. “I can’t say a word without being teased about it.”

“It’s out of love, bro… and I love you a whole lot.”

“I love you too.”

Promethea was grand, grander than any place on Pandora and it explicitly elicited futurism with it’s tall chrome buildings that glistened in the sun’s rays. There were all sorts of smells that Vaughn wasn’t familiar with, except the smell of coffee and fresh meat, which made his mouth water so much that Rhys guided him over to the joint without a trace of mockery, like a sweetheart. At first, he was against Rhys treating him. Every time he offered him anything, whether it be food, clothes, accessories, etc, Vaughn felt this overwhelming sense of guilt that he could never repay him. Being a bandit was more of a food and survival rewarding job than money and that was why Vaughn liked it. Each time he refused, the CEO would bend down and kiss his face, saying ‘let me spoil you’ before taking him into a building.

Vaughn had had his vintage Atlas watch that they stole from one of their abandoned facilities in the beginning of their adventure for eleven years. It had a habit of breaking recently, and eventually Vaughn couldn’t fix it anymore. He didn’t want to throw it away, despite how gross and dirty it had become. It had too much sentimental value. So when Rhys surprised him with the newest edition of his watch, he broke down into tears that wouldn’t stop flowing for the next ten minutes. The two sat on a park bench in that time while Rhys cleaned his face with a handkerchief. Vaughn loved it. He loved it so much that the only time he would stop playing with it was to kiss his boyfriend. Ten minutes turned into thirty minutes. It was then that Vaughn realized how attention starved and touch starved he was. For each time Rhys moved his hand to another spot, it scorch his skin. He yearned for his lips to be forever kissed by Rhys. He didn’t want the day to end. He didn’t want this feeling to stop.

City of Lights was the perfect name for the city shined brighter than any star in the sky with more colors than he recognized. It set a fitting mood between them. Hope, for a better future. As they walked back to the secret entrance to Atlas HQ, the realization that he still had a choice to make hit him like a train. His mind drew a blank as he looked to Rhys, thinking back to their day. It was wonderful. It was one of the most magically uplifting days he ever had, yet he felt ashamed. 

While crossing through the campus, the two let silence reign between them. Vaughn could tell that Rhys was thinking about it too. He wasn’t holding him as close as he did throughout the day. He saw the pain in his eyes and the bandit didn’t have a clue on how to relieve it. The closer they got to the elevator, panic tightened his throat. With how fast his heart pulsed, he was getting warmer by the second. Without saying anything, he peeled off the CEO and removed his jacket and hung it on his arm. That felt a little better. He blinked in surprise when he saw Rhys gawking at him again.

Vaughn tried to smile. “I thought you’d be used to this by now.”

He shook his head slightly. “I don’t think I can get used to how handsome you are. It’s kind of, um,” He ran his tongue over his lips as he looked him over. “Dangerous.”

“Dangerous, how?”

Rhys didn’t answer for a while. “Uhh… Vaughn?”

“Yeah?”

“Would you like to stay?”

“... What?”

“Shit, I-I mean for tonight! Sleep here, tonight. My bed is, uh, big enough for both of us and-- an, and I promise I don’t kick in my sleep! If--If that’s okay, if you want… if you need more time...”

He choked on his parched throat. “Rhys, I’d love to stay the night with you.”

“Really?” He beamed. “That’s great! Uhhh, listen, you go up without me. I need to check in with Lorelei, but I’ll be there soon, okay?”

“Okay, bro.”

Rhys grabbed him before he stepped onto the elevator and kissed him deeply, gripping his arms. He released the bandit and gave him another kiss on his head before waving him off with a grin that tried to not show a trace of sadness. Vaughn saw it and it pierced his soul as he returned the smile. As the screen doors closed and the elevator lifted, the bandit waited until he was well beyond the first floor to break down. 

He wiped his tears with the back of his hands and gasped, “Alright, okay, okay okay okay okay. Vaughn. _Vaughn_ It’s time to make your choice, dumbass. Leave you life as a bandit and work as an accountant and do boring paperwork again or leave Rhys and try a long distant relationship. Sure, it was easy to make that decision on Pandora because you thought your best bro was dead! That was fun! And today! You just spent a whole day with him and he treated you like a goddamn king… Why do I feel like more of a king here than I ever did on Pandora? No one gave me any weird looks. I was... and Rhys was so...” His voice trailed off as he looked to his new watch. “He was so happy… _I_ was so happy. I felt so… free.”  
Suddenly, it occurred to him the second he finished his sentence, right as the elevator reached it’s floor. He already made his decision.

Still nothing from Zer0. However, there were reports that everyone taking the news surprisingly well. Rhys knew that they would love Vaughn, how could anyone not adore him? He sorted through the articles Lorelei showed him with a pleased smile on his face. “Cutest couple on Promethea, huh?”

“Apparently.” Lorelei chuckled, showing him another photo, “you two weren’t pretending to love each other at all.”

“We were kind of obvious, huh?”

“It’s almost sickening. Is it official?”

“It’s official. But I don’t think he’s staying...”

Walking through the automatic door, Vaughn made a loop around the CEO’s bedroom as he clung to his blazer. “I would be here every night, waiting for Rhys to come sleep with me. I’d have clothes again, that’s something to get used to… and showering. And he would be beside me. I’d have my numbers again. I didn’t think I would miss those but I do. Would I have friends here? Would anyone be my friend here? Lorelei seems nice and I already know Zer0. I still have the Crimson Raiders and the Vault Hunters, but I wouldn't see them as often. If I stayed, where would I be? Would I work alongside Rhys or in a shitty cubical again? I hate sitting.”

Lorelei nodded. “I remember you telling me he was a ‘bandit king’, yeah? I’m sure his bandit subjects are waiting for him to come back.”

“Yeah...” Rhys mindlessly agreed, not wanting to get into it. “Lorelei, was I out of line to offer him a job here?”

“Out of line, how?”

“I mean, should I have said that? Like, he would make a great addition to our team here. He’s amazing, but he hasn’t done that in a decade. If I offered--”

“Rhys, you already did.”

“Point taken, but just imagine being in Vaughn shoes for a second. Would you say yes?”

Vaughn took his glasses off and placed them on the bedside table. “... Even that looks like it belongs there.”

Tossing his jacket, which landed near the box of clothes, he timidly stepped into the walk in closet and put his nose onto a few of the shirts. They all shared the same gel stench that reeked nostalgia. He could see himself wearing these shirts so he could feel like he was being constantly hugged by the CEO. They wouldn’t have to worry about anything but business again. There was no survival of the fittest, except with corporal competition, which Rhys was already nailing without his help. This was a paradise in comparison to Pandora. And numbers didn’t question his authority or tied him up or left him to die, like his old clan.

“... I don’t think so." Lorelei finally responded, "I’d feel like this would be taking away my freedom.”

The CEO sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “Okay. I just need to be ready for anything. He’s been waiting for me, I should go.”

“Ey, Rhys.” Rhys stopped and turned, but didn't directly look at her. “If he does say no, try not to let that consume you. This city can’t run without you.”

“I know. I’m already preparing myself.” He offered a tiny smile and he called the elevator. 

Vaughn looked to the majestic bed and found himself desiring to ruin it Pandoran style with Rhys. With a sultry grin, he removed his pants.

Rhys was full of dread throughout the ride as his mind repeated his speech to his best friend until it was ingrained into his head. He felt slightly queasy but assuming it was from the lift. Reaching his office floor, the CEO stared up at his door, clenching his fists. With a sigh, he pressed on and entered his room. “Thanks for waiting for me, man. I didn’t mean to take that long.”

Vaughn, who was sitting underneath the blankets, perked up, seeming oddly embarrassed. “Oh! That’s okay, bro.”

“I-I know I said I’d wait until you were ready, but it’s been eating me alive and I will not be able to sleep tonight if I cannot get this out. We need to talk.”

“You’re right. We do. I gave your proposal a lot of thought.”

“Y-you have?” His heart sunk. “I mean, that’s great, but please, let me say something before you tell me.”

“Sure, go for it.”

“All of today, I just want to let you know that I was never once trying to persuade you to stay here. You don’t belong here. This place is structured and nothing like Pandora. On that... backward planet, you're free to run around with no clothes and I get that. That sounds totally freeing and I respect you for it. I love you, Vaughn. I want you to be happy. You’re not going to be happy here. I don’t get time to do dates like that everyday. It’s all work here, especially to get back on our feet and Zer0 is still gone... We’re almost there but we still--”

“Rhys, hold on.”

“No! I’m not done! Promethea is not for you, bro! You deserve so much more than a dumb desk job. You deserve a world to run around and do whatever you want in.”

“Rhys!” Vaughn tried again but he shushed him.

“I don’t want to hear it! You deserve to be happy and I can’t promise you that, man! We both know that I don’t want to be in a world without you, but goddammit I want a world where you're happy--!”

“You don’t have to be alone, Rhys!”

Rhys stopped pacing, staring at him in puzzlement. “Vaughn, I can’t just quit and go back to Pandora with you.”

“That is not--Mmmmph.” The bandit wiped his face. “Rhys, I decided to stay here. I’ve already given thought to what could and what wouldn’t make me happy here and honestly… I saw that there were more positives than negatives.”

His knees briefly gave out and he grabbed the end bedframe, holding himself up. “Really?”

“This place isn’t Hyperion. I saw your world today and… I wanted to be a part of it. You made it livable, man. Sure, I like my dose of crazy but after the Calypsos... it turns out I had no idea what crazy actually was. I want to stay here. I want to see more of what you’ve done. But um...”

“Yes? What is it, bro?” He pushed breathlessly, “Whatever makes you happy, I’ll do it. Just tell me, anything you want. I’ll make it work.”

"Anything?"

"Anything. You name it."

Vaughn flexed his fingers into the soft blankets. “If... Since I am going to be your accountant, I don’t want to be sitting down all the time.”

“I can totally make that work. I can even get you better glasses, you know, ones that work. It won't be, you know, that blocky style, unless that's what you like then I can get it custom made for you. A-an-and and I know you hated your cubical so I promise you you do not have to work in one. You'll be beside me, if-if-if-if you want. What else? Is there anything else?”

“R-Rhys, you’re shaking. Sit down!”

He plopped down on Vaughn’s side of the bed, running his sleeve over his teary eyes. “I’m just… I don’t want to ruin this for you. I thought for sure you were going to say no. I wasn’t ready for any of this at all. I’m--I’m so happy.” With a hiccup, Rhys crawled up and into Vaughn’s arms. “Are you sure you’re going to be happy here?”

“It’s going to be hell to get used to but…” He pulled him onto the bed and nestled into the crook of neck. “I’m willing to take that chance. As long as you support me...”

“You know I will. I love you so much...” His lips trailed down his jawline until he honed into his mouth, snaking his tongue inside. With a shudder, he gave a small groan as he felt his hands trace his back, lower and lower. Suddenly, Rhys drew back, looking down. “Vaughn.”

His lips twitched. “Uh, yeah, Rhys?”

He clicked tongue, letting the silence protrude for a while as his eyes flickered to and fro. “Vaughn.”

"Uh-huh?"

"Is that?"

“Yes?”

He inhaled deeply. “You have really been testing me today, bro.”

“Ohoho! You want to talk about being tested?! Dude, when you put on that damn suit-- hell, I want to tear that off of you right now. Do you have any idea how attractive you were talking to those reporters? You have no idea how perfect you are, man. I’ve been frustrated all day.”

The CEO sat up and flaunted his arms. "Oh, look at me, I'm Vaughn! I'm just going to parade around with gorgeous abs and pecs. Handsome Jack is _quaking_ in his grave! He fuck-king WISHES he could do this in public, but he can't! Cause he's dead! I killed him with my sexy ass!"

"Are you done?"

"I'm Vaughn and I love to make my boyfriend suffer and blue balls the fuck out of him aaaaall daaaay loooong. Test, my ass! Oh no, but wait! There's more! Let's make Rhys suffer for my amusement and not tell him that my penis is out and erect and SHAMELESSLY pressed onto his vagina! Let him figure it out!"

Rhys was beyond reach, at this point he was among the stars and wouldn't be able to come down for a while. So, Vaughn got up and began undoing his shirt and tie with a knowing smile.

"Couple minutes later I'm still wondering what the hell that is and you say absolutely nothing and lay there like a sexy asshole! I'm Vaaaauuughn, I'll use my sexy body to get what I waaaaaant. Ohhh, Rhyyyys~ I'm so sexually frustrated because you're so hot in that suuuuit."

"You're not wrong." Vaughn snickered, chucking his clothes off the bed. "The mustache doesn't help either."

"Not like I can compete with tha-- What did you say about my mustache?"

A successful landing courtesy of Vaughn. He smiled slyly as he moved into him, pinning him down to the bed. He tugged the CEO's belt off and flung it to the side in one swift motion that made Rhys' jaw drop. "You have no idea how wonderful your mouth feels. You have no idea how frustrating it was to look at you and touch you and not take you right there."

“Oh… oh, well, then uh… uhhhhmmm uh...” he stammered through his sentence as Vaughn ventured bring his zipper down and feel around his waist. “Oh my god--uh, we should totally relieve some that uh uh uh uh thrust-- FRUST-ration...” He shivered. “Oooooh god, I need to find a condom before we make really stupid decisions. Yoooou, you hang in there.” Rhys scrambled off the bed and beelined into the bathroom.

After a minute of scuffling, Vaughn was unable to hold out anymore. Frustrated, he kicked the covers off and marched to the door as the CEO came out, “I foun-- Vaughn?”

"Get _over_ here, _now_."

Shoving him into the wall, Vaughn grinded up hard against him as he tugged on his neck with his teeth and lapped up the blood with his tongue. Rhys dropped the condom when he fell limp, captivated by the onslaught of powerful sensations coursing through him as he concentrated on every push against his crotch and every stroke upon his skin. His trembling gasps, the way he clawed his back, his keening moans that made his hair stand on edge, how his lanky legs quivered whenever he felt downwards, it was empowering and he craved more of it. Pausing to breathe, Vaughn swooped down, picked up the condom, and lured the CEO to the bed. As Vaughn paused to put the on, he left Rhys feeling exhausted, desperate, and impulsive.

He tore off his pants and came up behind the ex-bandit, feeling his arms down to his hands, "You want help?"

"You don't want to help. You want to stroke me."

He forced Vaughn around and pressed him between the bed and his body, rocking his hips against his dick as he leaned over to leave a lingering kiss on his neck. “So? We're kind of half way there anyway."

"Fuck." Vaughn groaned, briefly lost in the rhythm. Rejuvenated, he grabbed Rhys and forced him onto the mattress, climbing on top of him. For a moment, they gaze into each other's eyes, properly taking in the instance. "This is really happening."

"Yup... You okay?"

"Mmyeah, yea, I am. Are you?"

"Uh-huh. I'm ready."

"You let me know if it’s too much for you, okay?”

“You’re never too much...” He replied, dreamily, sliding his hands from his hips to his ass and claiming his lips.

Although the window blinds were closed, this cloaked deathsphere could see through the wood and projected the progressively steaming scene to an unattended screen. The monitor was located in a shabby hole one could call a room underneath the city that was covered wall to wall with photographs and newspaper clippings of Rhys Strongfork. Against the wall was a damp mattress, there slept a man who was once pronounced dead to the universe due a suit malfunction.

Katagawa Jr. laid undisturbed in his makeshift apartment, recording Rhys’ every movement.


End file.
